Victim manhandled to ground
On February 16, 2024, Tangimetua was at an address in Whangārei when he crossed the road to the elderly man’s property.
The man was carrying out renovations and the pair did not know each other.
The 32-year-old knocked on the door before letting himself in.
As he came into the kitchen, he grabbed the victim, manhandling him to the ground while yelling, “Get on the f***ing ground”.
Tangimetua then punched the victim at least twice to the face and used a painting sheet and T-shirt to tie the man’s hands behind his back.
He then demanded the Pin number to the man’s credit card, took his keys and left in the victim’s car.
The victim managed to escape to a neighbouring address for help and police were called.
Tangimetua was pulled over by police a short time later and told them the car was “legit” and his “old man gave me his keys”.
“That, of course, was a load of rubbish,” Judge John McDonald said at his sentencing in December last year.
When police asked Tangimetua how the man got his injuries, he responded, “you know what I mean, OT styles”, in reference to the suburb of Otangarei in Whangārei.
Levi Tangimetua referred to the suburb of Otangarei when questioned by police over the home invasion. Photo / NZME
Tangimetua had also been drinking and blew a level of 883mcg of alcohol per litre of breath, more than double the legal limit.
The victim sustained bruising to his head, a suspected fractured cheek, extensive swelling to his teeth, bruising on his arms and a bleeding mouth.
‘He had no chance against you’
Judge McDonald set a starting point of nine years’ imprisonment, citing the victim’s vulnerability, the home invasion and violence to the head.
“He was 82 years old, he had no chance against you. You would have been able to walk in and just flex your muscles and yell at him and he would have given up, but you decided no, to give him the bash, when there was absolutely no need,” Judge McDonald said at the sentencing.
He gave a 25% discount for guilty pleas and Tangimetua’s adverse upbringing, resulting in the final sentence of six years, nine months.
Tangimetua appealed, arguing the starting point should have been eight to eight-and-a-half years, and that his psychological history – including abuse, neglect and childhood trauma – warranted a further 5 to 10% discount.
His lawyer, Sumudu Thode, submitted the total reduction should have been 50 to 55%, bringing the sentence down to three years and seven months.
But in a recently released decision, the Court of Appeal disagreed.
It found the original sentence was stern but within range, noting Judge McDonald could have added time for Tangimetua’s extensive criminal history and excess breath alcohol.
“We acknowledge that another judge might have given Mr Tangimetua a greater discount than 5% for his background factors. But it could have been nowhere near the discounts Mrs Thode submits are appropriate,” the decision said.
“Standing back and considering the totality of Mr Tangimetua’s offending, we conclude that the end sentence of six years and nine months’ imprisonment was not manifestly excessive.”
The appeal was dismissed.
Shannon Pitman is a Whangārei-based reporter for Open Justice covering courts in the Te Tai Tokerau region. She is of Ngāpuhi/ Ngāti Pūkenga descent and has worked in digital media for the past five years. She joined NZME in 2023.